Gonzaga vs USF post game thoughts

[Reborn]

Gonzaga 95
USF 80

Gonzaga looked real good tonight NWG had a career high 36 points, and 11 rebounds, with 6 assists. He was really fun to watch. What's amazing is that he only missed 3 shots, and scored in as many different ways that were possible. He was 3-4 from the 3 pt line, and 9-9 from the foul line. Mathews was 3-8 from the 3 pi line, and scored 16,BUT i'm pretty sure he had 4 three pointers. Tillie totaled 12 on 6-7 shooting, and 8 rebounds.. Karno scored 10. I thought Melson looked real good too with 7 points. I wish he had played more. It looked like PK and Williams took the night off to me. iT WAS BY FAR THE WORST POST DEFENSE OF THE YEAR . KARNOWSKI WATCHED usf GUARDS SHOOT LAY UP AFTER LAYUP ON HIM.

Gonzaga was able to hold USF to only 7-29 from behind the 3pt line. That was great D as USF averages 15 made 3's per game. IMO the game really wasn't as close as the score says. USD got a goal tending call on Riu TO give USF a bucket at the end. All in all a really good win.

Go Zags!!!

[CDC84]

Nigel was incredible tonight. One of the best PG performances in GU history. 36 points, 12-15 FG, 3-4 3 PT, 9-9 FT, 6 AST, 11 RB, 1 TO. He could do anything he wanted tonight. Total control of the team, total control of the game.

The defense has started to slip in conference play. Not sure what the reason is. USF shot 46.9% tonight (although 24.1% from three, a key statistic in this game). Pacific shot 45.6% and 50.0% from three. Pepperdine shot 44.6% and 42.9% from three. The team needs to start focusing more. They cannot get into the bad habit of believing they can just outscore people. They can. But they can't come March Madness.

Josh Perkins had 5 turnovers tonight. 4 against Pacific. I hate to sound as if I am bashing the kid, but he has to be one of the worst ball handling guards I have ever seen Mark Few coach at Gonzaga who has received major minutes. And he makes some awful decisions as well. The turnovers are just inexcusable given that NWG is now the main ball handler on the team. I realize that Josh is an amazing three point shooter, and that it is a luxury to have a shooting guard who can play make for others. But if Silas Melson can ever find a consistent shooting stroke, I might be tempted to start Silas over Josh due to what he brings defensively and on the boards. Also, it might send a message to JP that he needs to be more careful with the basketball. Josh needs to spend the entire offseason working on his ballhandling. I know there are shot doctors. Are there any ballhandling doctors that can be employed to help JP? When NWG moves on, Josh is going to take over the PG position again. He has got to get better.

[TacomaZAG]

Josh Perkins had 5 turnovers tonight. 4 against Pacific. I hate to sound as if I am bashing the kid, but he has to be one of the worst ball handling guards I have ever seen Mark Few coach at Gonzaga who has received major minutes. And he makes some awful decisions as well. The turnovers are just inexcusable given that NWG is now the main ball handler on the team. I realize that Josh is an amazing three point shooter, and that it is a luxury to have a shooting guard who can play make for others. But if Silas Melson can ever find a consistent shooting stroke, I might be tempted to start Silas over Josh due to what he brings defensively and on the boards. Also, it might send a message to JP that he needs to be more careful with the basketball. Josh needs to spend the entire offseason working on his ballhandling. I know there are shot doctors. Are there any ballhandling doctors that can be employed to help JP? When NWG moves on, Josh is going to take over the PG position again. He has got to get better.

Josh seemed lazy and uninterested tonight. First game in 15 or so he didn't have a 3. Maybe the flu???? First real sub par game for Josh this year. Call it an aberration, he has played really well so far this year. I really like him off the ball compared to the point, seems much more suited to his skill set.

Go ZAGS

[thespywhozaggedme]

At this point I really wish the Big East would create a Western division with us, BYU and St. Mary's.

[ProVeeZag]

Josh seemed lazy and uninterested tonight. First game in 15 or so he didn't have a 3. Maybe the flu???? First real sub par game for Josh this year. Call it an aberration, he has played really well so far this year. I really like him off the ball compared to the point, seems much more suited to his skill set.

Go ZAGS

Josh' play was very disappointing, so much so I believe he must have been under the weather health-wise. If that was the case, then I would wonder why Few stuck with him so long as he was clearly hurting the team.

I expected JWIII to show better tonight after showing us a lot in the late stages of the Pacific game. Early fouls seem to put him in a funk, though he did sink at least 4 FT's as I recall.

Takeaway: Still undefeated at 15-0, the Zags still have not put together a complete game. They are heading in the right direction though. I'd just as soon we don't peak for a while yet. As is evident to most of us, all the pieces are there for a big finish come tourney time.

[GrizZAG]

"Williams-Goss is the Head of the Snake" Halftime quote, did you catch it? Nice!
NWG had an Ammo-esque game tonight!

[Reborn]

Nigel was incredible tonight. One of the best PG performances in GU history. 36 points, 12-15 FG, 3-4 3 PT, 9-9 FT, 6 AST, 11 RB, 1 TO. He could do anything he wanted tonight. Total control of the team, total control of the game.

The defense has started to slip in conference play. Not sure what the reason is. USF shot 46.9% tonight (although 24.1% from three, a key statistic in this game). Pacific shot 45.6% and 50.0% from three. Pepperdine shot 44.6% and 42.9% from three. The team needs to start focusing more. They cannot get into the bad habit of believing they can just outscore people. They can. But they can't come March Madness.

Josh Perkins had 5 turnovers tonight. 4 against Pacific. I hate to sound as if I am bashing the kid, but he has to be one of the worst ball handling guards I have ever seen Mark Few coach at Gonzaga who has received major minutes. And he makes some awful decisions as well. The turnovers are just inexcusable given that NWG is now the main ball handler on the team. I realize that Josh is an amazing three point shooter, and that it is a luxury to have a shooting guard who can play make for others. But if Silas Melson can ever find a consistent shooting stroke, I might be tempted to start Silas over Josh due to what he brings defensively and on the boards. Also, it might send a message to JP that he needs to be more careful with the basketball. Josh needs to spend the entire offseason working on his ball handling. I know there are shot doctors. Are there any ball handling doctors that can be employed to help JP? When NWG moves on, Josh is going to take over the PG position again. He has got to get better.

I agee pretty much with everything you said about Josh and Melson. Josh's D was also horrible tonight. IMO Melson also deserves it by the way he has played lately.

[kitzbuel]

At this point I really wish the Big East would create a Western division with us, BYU and St. Mary's.

Yeah. As hard as USF played tonight, they at best are the best of the rest. It is a three-team conference right now. Realistically GU should only see potential losses at SMC or BYU.

I do think that USF has something going on though. They had a plan and stuck to it.

[sittingon50]

Yeah. As hard as USF played tonight, they at best are the best of the rest. It is a three-team conference right now. Realistically GU should only see potential losses at SMC or BYU.

I do think that USF has something going on though. They had a plan and stuck to it.

Perhaps SCU, who handled usf last week & UP tonight.

[MDABE80]

Josh is reverting to last year's behavior. Just not quite in the game. 0-3 from 3 tonight but he didn't seem interested in defense and had gobs of TO's that in part kept USF in the game. If Josh plays like this at SMC, we'll lose. Melson's been doing so much better lately.

Not sure what's caused the downturn but it's evident.
Meanwhile we do need to focus on our defense again. 80 pts from a young USF team seems crazy.
Finally though USF has a good coach. Makes a difference. 10 years of half assed coaching really put a dent in their program. Let's hope this is a slow return post break. Worrisome though. Nigel played a very complete game. Jordan needs to focus on defense. ..........he can play it very well but he needs to turn it up.
Well, 15 games in, we're undefeated. National media is beginning ot raise doubts about our seeding and the record. Nothing we can do about the record. We keep winning. After watching SMC tonight, that's the spooky place. No other place comes close. BYU at their place doesn't look so daunting as this team just isn't as good as in former years.

[Zag79]

Studs at every spot, and probably two starting teams worth. They can all go both ways, which is rare at Gonzaga to be honest. Some of the guys coming off of the bench now would've been starters, maybe the best player on the floor for some Zag teams in the past. Length, skill, depth, athleticism, it all makes the D Few has historically run much better. The offense can come from anywhere, with plenty of different leaders on any given night. It's the best team Few and this program has ever had. That doesn't mean a sure Final 4, but it's easily the kind of team to get hyped about. Much more so than most of the teams some fans created unreasonable expectations for... But this team, wow.

[amaronizag]

Josh was not himself tonight or last game. Only explanation is that he's playing sick. He's lethargic and out of sorts. He's a much better player than that. Not worried about him at all. Melson was a little off tonight as well, but not worried about him either. I think it's Williams that has to kick it up a couple notches. I love that we can play really bad in stretches but still win by 15. Back when we played the flex motion offense, it made me crazy because we couldn't put up enough shots to play with the big boys. We had as many games where our shots total was in the 40's as games where our shot total was in the 60's. I have always said we need to average 65 shots per game to make it deep in the dance, but we averaged in the low to mid 50 shots per game for several years. THIS year we have only ONE game in the 40's, 3 in the 50's, 7 in the 60's, and 2 in the 70's. If we keep putting up that many shots, we can waltz through the conference and play with the big boys,....at last!!! Josh will be a big factor in that as soon as he gets well.

[Zags11]

Studs at every spot, and probably two starting teams worth. They can all go both ways, which is rare at Gonzaga to be honest. Some of the guys coming off of the bench now would've been starters, maybe the best player on the floor for some Zag teams in the past. Length, skill, depth, athleticism, it all makes the D Few has historically run much better. The offense can come from anywhere, with plenty of different leaders on any given night. It's the best team Few and this program has ever had. That doesn't mean a sure Final 4, but it's easily the kind of team to get hyped about. Much more so than most of the teams some fans created unreasonable expectations for... But this team, wow.

Good to see you post zags79. And i agree.

[Zagger]

Went to the home game on 12/29 and got there an hour early to eat & watch the team warm up & practice shooting. NWG stood out in shooting. Not only was he making his shots but they were mostly net and you could just tell early in the shot's trajectory that they were going in - didn't matter where from. It was almost unnatural - sort of Tolkien Elfish stuff. Maybe with Perkins having a bad night Nigel just felt it was green light time to let loose? If Perkins can get back in form and the team really gets dead serious on D there is no way they're not going to go undefeated in league. The Zags are that good through at least 8 guys - 10 if you toss in Alberts & Hachimura.

I really can't wait to see GU @ home against Saint Mary's. If the Zags are going to play a heckuva spiffy game soon that'll be a great time for one (not meaning to discount any game @ any venue).

Go Zags! Stay healthy & beat Portland!

[23zagmd]

Nigel was incredible tonight. One of the best PG performances in GU history. 36 points, 12-15 FG, 3-4 3 PT, 9-9 FT, 6 AST, 11 RB, 1 TO. He could do anything he wanted tonight. Total control of the team, total control of the game.

The defense has started to slip in conference play. Not sure what the reason is. USF shot 46.9% tonight (although 24.1% from three, a key statistic in this game). Pacific shot 45.6% and 50.0% from three. Pepperdine shot 44.6% and 42.9% from three. The team needs to start focusing more. They cannot get into the bad habit of believing they can just outscore people. They can. But they can't come March Madness.

Josh Perkins had 5 turnovers tonight. 4 against Pacific. I hate to sound as if I am bashing the kid, but he has to be one of the worst ball handling guards I have ever seen Mark Few coach at Gonzaga who has received major minutes. And he makes some awful decisions as well. The turnovers are just inexcusable given that NWG is now the main ball handler on the team. I realize that Josh is an amazing three point shooter, and that it is a luxury to have a shooting guard who can play make for others. But if Silas Melson can ever find a consistent shooting stroke, I might be tempted to start Silas over Josh due to what he brings defensively and on the boards. Also, it might send a message to JP that he needs to be more careful with the basketball. Josh needs to spend the entire offseason working on his ballhandling. I know there are shot doctors. Are there any ballhandling doctors that can be employed to help JP? When NWG moves on, Josh is going to take over the PG position again. He has got to get better.

Dead on with the JP stuff, i said the same thing in another thread! The difference in this team is NWG and his ability to take care of the ball!

[DZ]

NWG best single game by a Zag since Morrison-days. Maybe better b/c of the rebounding, etc.

Josh looked in a fog.

USF plays very hard.

[TexasZagFan]

NWG best single game by a Zag since Morrison-days. Maybe better b/c of the rebounding, etc.

Josh looked in a fog.

USF plays very hard.

FWIW, Ammo had 9 rebounds to go with his 41 points. Personally, I think NWG will have even better, more impactful performances from here on. He's just getting started, and you can say that about the rest of the team. Players are getting more comfortable with the rotation, what's expected of them, their teammates, etc.

[john montana]

You can make a case for any of our top 8 to start. It gets a little thin after that in my opinion...less about the sheer volume of our depth and more about the quality of the 3 guys we bring off the bench. Alberts and Rui aren't ready yet, but the top 8 just fits together so well. Interchangeable pieces that somehow fill in the gaps and misses in each other's games. Just a well put together team.

[zagdontzig]

I hate to de a downer but does anyone feel like we're allowing too many points in the past handful of games?

[MontanaCoyote]

From John Shea's write up of the game in the SF Chronicle,

(The Dons) ......"didn't threaten much in the second half against the Zag's swarming exterior defense and the inside
presence of 7 foot, 300 pounder Przemek Karnowski and other big men."

I've posted before that Karno's mere presence makes a big difference, sans rebounds, points, assists. Shea didn't reference any thing Karno actually did, just the fact that he was there!
I'm sticking with the tag I've put on him in many past posts; Przemek "The Presence" Karnowski. Him just being there
is a huge plus, in and of itself.

[U Zig, I Zag]

At this point I really wish the Big East would create a Western division with us, BYU and St. Mary's.

Big East (West).

[U Zig, I Zag]

I hate to de a downer but does anyone feel like we're allowing too many points in the past handful of games?

Team gets softer on D as the game is waning down. Not sure if it's be design (don't foul, don't get hurt, don't drag the game on longer than necessary) or that's just how it is with these guys.

Josh seems sick, to me. Last couple games. He doesn't look super alert out there and the handles are loosy-goosy. He's always a little flashy, but he just flat out lost the ball a bunch of times. He'll be better I am sure.

[bettingman]

At this point I really wish the Big East would create a Western division with us, BYU and St. Mary's.

Where's the middle finger gif on this thing?

[TexasZagFan]

Team gets softer on D as the game is waning down. Not sure if it's be design (don't foul, don't get hurt, don't drag the game on longer than necessary) or that's just how it is with these guys.

Josh seems sick, to me. Last couple games. He doesn't look super alert out there and the handles are loosy-goosy. He's always a little flashy, but he just flat out lost the ball a bunch of times. He'll be better I am sure.

When you have a commanding lead, you just want to keep the clock moving. Better that way than to put the other team on the line, i.e. score with the clock stopped.

[maynard g krebs]

Some really crap posts about Perkins on here. Looked obvious he's sick. Clearly not himself. Give the kid a break.